Purpose: This unit is all about effective keyboard performance technique including basic treble clef staff notation.  The unit begins with a general introduction and “Keyboard Treasure Hunt” around a standard classroom keyboard which is a good chance to navigate basic keyboard functions, establish good playing routines and rectify and troubleshoot any potential technical problems.
 
Pupils learn about other keyboard instruments such as the Harpsichord, Celesta, Accordion, Organ, Clavichord, Piano (upright and grand) and Synthesisers before establishing the importance of correct playing position and posture and the importance of keyboard warm-ups. 
 
Pupils move on to learn about using keyboard fingering for better playing skills, built through a range of exercises such as scales and simple right-hand melodies in the key of C Major.
 
Pupils explore the layout of the keyboard in terms of white and black keys and their note names; sharps and flats as enharmonic equivalents and explore how to “read music” in the form of simple melodies and melodies from popular songs from treble clef staff notation.  They then move on to add a second part of basic chords with the left hand.  
 
Pupils explore short cartoon character musical clichés for keyboard, exploiting the instrument to its full potential in terms of voices, tones, timbres, rhythms, backings, chord functions and special effects to perform and then create their own cartoon character musical cliché.
 
Outcome: Pupils develop an understanding of how the classroom keyboard is used and played.  The practice pieces of keyboard music to build skills and understanding of reading music and playing an instrument using correct posture, fingering and accuracy of pitch and rhythm.  Pupils understand the importance of “warming-up” before playing a keyboard or piano and the concept of piano fingering using the numbers 1-5.  Pupils explore different keyboard instruments and listen to keyboard music from different times and places.  
 
This fully-resourced KS3 Secondary unit comes complete with 6 fully-resourced lesson plans, each containing a Lesson Plan, Worksheet and PowerPoint Presentation with all embedded audio files (also available separately as MP3 and WAV files).